Hal Elrod advises even the most busy of people that we can have a “Miracle Morning” and set the tone and mood for the rest of day. He advises that we follow these six steps (with minor tweaks from my morning routine):

Purposeful Silence: Instead of rushing about or reaching for your phone to mindlessly surf or check emails, take a moment of silence and meditate. Better yet, say a prayer of gratitude and thanks.

Affirmations: What is your goal for the day, for the week, for the month, for the year, for your life? Distill this into a 1 or 2 sentence summary and repeat it to yourself. Verbalizing this first thing in the morning will change the perspective you have on your morning routine. When I wake up, I make sure to kiss my daughter on her forehead or to greet my daughter a cheerful “good morning sweetie!” with a hug, if she is already awake.

Mentally Rehearse or Visualize You Day: Imagination is a powerful tool. Do you want your mornings with your children to be one of good cheer instead of a constant nagfest for them to finish their breakfast quickly? Visualize a calm morning — one filled with you having time to sit with your family for a relaxed breakfast. Do you have a difficult meeting with a client in the morning? Visualize a cooperative and productive meeting.

Write on your Gratitude Journal and your Most Important Tasks (MIT) of the Day: Write 3 things you are grateful for from yesterday and write a maximum 3 things that you must absolutely do for the day.

Exercise: This does not have to be a big production, even a 10 minute exercise — stretching, jumping jacks, planking and tricep dips — before taking a shower or getting dressed will do. The point is to get your blood moving.

Read or listen to a TED Talk or to some good vibe music: I have a small Devotional book for women that I read while I brush my teeth. I listen to a TED Talk or music when I get dressed.

Do I do this every single day? Of course not.

Do I want to do this every single day? No. There are days when opening even just one eye in the morning is a huge chore.

Do I beat up myself when I don’t get to this routine? No.

The point is to know what you need to do and to do your best to do it. How you spend your mornings usually dictate you day, and how you spend your days is how you spend your life.

Tying shoelaces was always a challenge to my kids when they were younger. They ended up saying “I can’t do this Mom!” And I started wishing that they would grow a bit faster to be able to do things on their own (and I certainly wish the opposite most of the times, especially when I have thoughts of them not needing me anymore …)

Dr. Carol Dweck wrote about the power of YET. Instead of saying “I can’t do it!”… say “I can’t do it…yet”. This YET changes a lot in the way a child (or even an adult) faces failures and challenges. This word YET can be powerful.

The word “YET” when added to every negative statements we utter, will have us embrace difficulties. “YET” will help us move forward and succeed.

This helps me deal with all the “I cannot’s” I hear my kids complain about. It also helps me deal with my own challenges.

Next time you hear kids saying “Mom, I can’t do this!”, let them hear the same statement with you adding YET. And rejoice when the time comes that they will be saying “Mom, I CAN do this!”